Small Business Saturday is a national day designated to promoting our smaller neighborhood stores.
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Haley Smith, an employee at The Wonder Shop downtown, said while big box stores and chains have a budget for marketing and slashing prices, Mom and Pop shops often can’t.
“You feel good when you purchase something that way”, said Caroline Porter who was shopping at the Melrose district. “We’re kind of family”, said Eaton.
Owner Lauren Baker said shops are working together to bring more shoppers, not only to their own stores, but the whole area. Local businesses say they believe more people are catching onto the idea of buying local and realizing what their city has to offer.
“People want more unique things”.
And customers aren’t just customers.
Belinda Urlacher says, “You don’t have old toys anymore and I’ve been looking for this toy for a long time, and I found it here today”.
The Main Street-focused shopping day for the Saturday after Thanksgiving was created by American Express in 2010.
Small Business Saturday proved helpful to several of downtown’s newest additions like Overmountain Outdoors, which opened about a month ago, draw in new customers.
“What I did when I was a kid for fun, my favorite game was playing shop”, Bass said. Especially in smaller communities where they help makeup the atmosphere of downtown and build an economic engine.
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According to the small business association more than $14 billion were spent during small business Saturday previous year. “If you come into the store you are going to be able to find that flawless gift for your mother, brother, really anybody”, said Kaitlin.
